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LAWRENCE SMITH/Stuff
Te Ahiwaru trustee Anya Tahere said Waikato-Tainui have significant resource already, and if shares were given to them, it will “cut [Te Ahiwaru] settlement opportunities off at the feet”.
A Māngere-based hapū has declared they are the rightful recipients of any available Auckland Airport shares, saying that any discussions involving the sale of shares must include them.
Read this story in te reo Māori and English here. / Pānuitia tēnei i te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā ki konei.
Te Ahiwaru are calling on council, Government and iwi to “acknowledge their ahi kaa” as mana whenua of the Māngere region.
Auckland councillors voted through Wayne Brown’s budget proposal last week, and agreed to sell a 7% stake in Auckland International Airport.
“For too long Te Ahiwaru have been overlooked and dismissed in the political and environmental landscape of Tāmaki Makaurau,” Te Ahiwaru trustee Anya Tahere said.
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“We are the mana whenua and ahi kaa of lands in and around the airport and have been directly impacted by its development and growth, for generations.”
Tahere said Waikato-Tainui have significant resource already, and if shares are given to them, it will “cut [Te Ahiwaru] settlement opportunities off at the feet”.
Stuff
Waikato-Tainui has also declared they are seeking a sizeable chunk of any Auckland Airport shares put up for sale, in order to settle outstanding claims in the Tāmaki Makaurau region.
“Our people deserve to be recognised and compensated for the 1863 land confiscations and following injustices that have led to land loss, awa and moana degradation… to our papakāinga in Ihumātao – the longest continual settlement of Māori in Tāmaki Makaurau,” Tahere added.
“Any discussion about Auckland Council’s airport shares that don’t include Te Ahiwaru is a direct and intentional strike against our mana motuhake and rangatiratanga.”
Tahere said while Waikato-Tainui might own hotels at the airport, it is Te Ahiwaru who are working directly on new terminal renovations and designs taking place.
This comes after Waikato-based iwi Waikato-Tainui declared they are seeking a sizeable chunk of any Auckland Airport shares put up for sale, in order to settle outstanding claims in the Tāmaki Makaurau region.
Lawrence Smith, Ricky Wilson/Stuff
Mayor Wayne Brown displayed a range of emotions during day one of discussions over Auckland Council’s budget.
Waikato-Tainui chairperson Tukoroirangi Morgan said he had talked to Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown recently, and implored him to sell the shares to the iwi, via the Government, rather than to a foreign buyer.
“Wayne Brown and I have an open and transparent relationship where I can pick up the phone,” Morgan said.
Selling the airport shares will earn the council around $900 million to pay down debt and save an estimated $23m in interest at the start of the new financial year on July 1.
Aucklanders face an average rates rise of 7.7% for average value properties.
Treaty Negotiations Minister Andrew Little told Stuff the Crown does not purchase shares to settle Treaty claims.
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